A Supermarine Scimitar aircraft lands aboard British Naval aircraft carrier Victorious underway in the Atlantic Ocean. HMS Victorious underway at sea as a Supermarine Scimitar, a British fighter aircraft, comes in for a landing. The aircraft lands perfectly, but is suddenly thrown over the side, into the sea, as the arresting cable snaps. The pilot, Commander John D. Russell, is unable to open his canopy to escape. A helicopter is dispatched to assist. But a sailor suspended from the helicopter is unable to help because the plane's canopy is jammed shut. The aircraft sinks with the pilot trapped inside. (Note: This dreadful accident occurred while the HMS Victorious was operating off the Isle of Wight. The pilot, Commander John .D. (Des) Russell, Royal Navy, was Commanding Officer of the new 803 Squadron. embarking for the first time at sea from the Royal Naval Air Station Lossiemouth in Scotland. The aircraft, Scimitar F1. XD240 coded 145/V, sank in 220 ft. of water after plunging into the sea.)

Responsibilities and assets of NATO's SACLANT. View from cockpit of aircraft landing on deck of U.S. aircraft carrier USS Bennington (CVA-20). Scenes of Atlantic ocean. Periscope of submarine breaks surface. View through periscope. American convoy underway during WWII in the Atlantic Ocean. Enemy submarine launches torpedo. Ships being struck by torpedoes. Underwater view of submarine. A torpedoed ship sinking. Views of empty Nazi submarine pens. A Douglas DC-4 passenger airplane passes by the Empire State building, while in flight over Manhattan Island, New York City. Steamships in terminals on the Hudson River. Tug boats and barges in New York harbor. Ocean-going cargo ships pass by the Statue of Liberty. Vehicular traffic in the streets of Norfolk, Virginia. A sign reads 'US Naval Base, Norfolk, Virginia'. View of ships and harbor at Norfolk Naval Station. Headquarters of the Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic (SACLANT). NATO officers in the "great map room of SACLANT" at the Headquarters. World map placed on a wall. Scene from 1952: U.S. Navy Captain briefs Admiral Lynde D. McCormick, Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet and also SACLANT. Map shows areas of SACLANT responsibility extending around the Atlantic from Southern Europe around past Iceland to the maritime provinces of Canada and down to the U.S. coast.. Surfaced submarine launches Regulus missile. Scene from 1960: U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Independence (CV-62) underway. Aircraft parked aboard the aircraft carrier. View of Naval Air Base at Oceana, Virginia. Douglas F4D flies above runway as another lands. Navy F8 aircraft parked on ramp. Canadian Naval Base at Halifax, Nova Scotia, with views of derricks, cranes, piers, and warships.

Restrospective of the 1954 search for a suitable site for U.S. Air Force testing of ballistic missiles. Coastal area with ocean in the background. Officials look over charts, maps, photographs as they select the site for Vandenberg Air Force Base. In January, 1958, view of building with a sign that reads ' Headquarters, First Missile Division, Strategic Air Command, Vandenberg Air Force Base' Entrance of the headquarters as Major General David Wade walks out. U.S. Air Force officers and airmen attend missile training classes. Airmen work on assembly of Thor missiles . U.S. Air Force officers and airmen operate missile launch consoles in a launch control center. November, 1958, Thor intermediate range missile on a trailer being delivered to Vandenberg Air Force Base. Trailer backs up to the launch pad. December, 16, 1958, the Thor missile on launch pad venting gases. U.S. Air Forces officers at a launch console. The Thor missile is launched. RAF airmen watch missile in flight.

Teams compete for the America's Cup off Newport, Rhode Island. American racing yacht Columbia underway in the Atlantic Ocean during the America's Cup. Spectators look at the boats and competing yachts. America's Columbia wins the race after defeating Spectre from England. The winning team aboard Columbia waves.

A film on the development of air power in the United States. Scenes depicting travel by ocean going ships, preceding air travel. Animation of a small ship moving away from the east coast of the U.S. Actual footage of a large sailing vessel of the early clipper ship variety sailing in the ocean. Animation of a small ship sailing to the Great Britain. Real footage of a four-stack ocean liner, which appears to be the RMS Mauretania (1906 edition), sailing in the Atlantic Ocean. Animated map of the Atlantic Ocean and the coasts of the U.S. and England. An R-34 dirigible airship in flight. The R-34 moored to the ground with a large craft around the gondola. A British Bristol fighter aircraft in flight. Animation of the maps of the U.S. and the Great Britain coming closer together, figuratively, through the speed of air travel.

United States newsman arrives at Falmouth in England after crossing the Atlantic Ocean. U.S. newsman Robert Manry crosses the Atlantic Ocean in a small boat 'Tinkerbelle'. He crossed the Atlantic Ocean and returned the same way. He is greeted on the shore by his wife and children. Officers stand to welcome him. Large crowd gathers to greet him.